Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026
08:21
Isolation of Murine Spermatogenic Cells using a Violet-Excited Cell-Permeable DNA Binding Dye
Published on: January 14, 2021
5.2K
Dynamic expression of combinatorial replication-dependent histone variant genes during mouse spermatogenesis.
1Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Gene Expression Patterns : GEP
|October 22, 2013
Summary
Spermatogenesis involves dynamic changes in histone gene expression. Different histone variants are expressed in specific cell types, regulating stem cell self-renewal and differentiation during mouse testes development.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics and Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Chromatin structure, built by nucleosomes (DNA wrapped around histones), dictates cell-specific gene expression through histone modifications and variants.
- Spermatogenesis requires constant chromatin remodeling, with testes known to express specific histone variants, yet regulatory mechanisms remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the dynamic expression patterns of replication-dependent histone genes during mouse spermatogenesis.
- To identify specific histone compositions associated with different spermatogenic cell types and stages.
Main Methods:
- Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was used to analyze histone gene expression in post-natal mouse testes.
- In situ hybridization was employed to determine the cellular localization of differentially expressed histone genes.
Main Results:
- Distinct sets of histone genes are expressed at different stages: gonocyte-enriched (2 days post partum), spermatogonial stem cell (SSC)-stage (9 days post partum), and differentiating spermatocytes/spermatids.
- Previously identified testis-specific histone genes (e.g., hist1h1t) were highly expressed during differentiation.
- Histone genes prominent in gonocytes and SSCs also showed high expression in embryonic stem cells, with some changes upon embryoid body formation.
Conclusions:
- Spermatogenesis is characterized by stage-specific and cell-type-specific expression of histone variant genes.
- These distinct histone combinations play a systematic regulatory role in the self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells.
- Histone variants may also be involved in regulating pluripotency in embryonic stem cells.
More Related Videos
09:40A Seminiferous Tubule Squash Technique for the Cytological Analysis of Spermatogenesis Using the Mouse Model
Published on: February 6, 2018
14.9K
08:35Ex vivo Culture of Drosophila Pupal Testis and Single Male Germ-line Cysts: Dissection, Imaging, and Pharmacological Treatment
Published on: September 11, 2014
18.8K
Related Concept Videos
03:17Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
6.0K
Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in a cell's phenotype without changing the DNA sequences. It provides a form of memory for the differential gene expression pattern to maintain cell lineage, position-effect variegation, dosage compensation, and maintenance of chromatin structures such as telomeres and centromeres. For example, the structure and location of the centromere on chromosomes are epigenetically inherited. Its functionality is not dictated or ensured by the underlying...
6.0K
02:38Heterochromatin
12.0K
The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at...
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at...
12.0K
01:32Chromatin Modification in iPS Cells
1.5K
Chromatin modification alters gene expression; therefore, scientists can add histone-modifying enzymes, histone variants, and chromatin remodeling complexes to somatic cells to aid reprogramming into pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
Compact chromatin makes reprogramming difficult. Enzymes, such as histone demethylases and acetyltransferases, are often added during reprogramming to loosen the chromatin, making the DNA more accessible to transcription factors. Molecules that inhibit histone...
Compact chromatin makes reprogramming difficult. Enzymes, such as histone demethylases and acetyltransferases, are often added during reprogramming to loosen the chromatin, making the DNA more accessible to transcription factors. Molecules that inhibit histone...
1.5K
02:31Chromosome Replication
9.0K
Before a cell can divide, it must accurately replicate all of its chromosomes, including the DNA and its associated histone and non-histone proteins. This process begins at numerous origins of replication during the S phase of the cell cycle in each of a cell’s chromosomes simultaneously. Certain nucleotides can act as origins of replication, but these sequences are not well defined - especially in complex, multi-cellular, eukaryotic species. The length of DNA that spans an origin...
9.0K
02:30Histone Variants at the Centromere
4.0K
Histone variants are the histone proteins with structural and sequence variations. These variants may be regarded as “mutant” forms that replace their canonical histone counterparts in the nucleosomes. Specific post-translational modifications on the histone variants enable further chromatin complexity and regulate tissue-specific gene expression. The most common histone variants are from histone H2A, H2B, and linker histone H1 families. However, several variants of histone H3...
4.0K
02:32Position-effect Variegation
5.6K
In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.
5.6K